My brother had gotten me a real nice gander mountain fly rod for christmas becuase earlier in the year he had told me to buy a certain walleye rod and it snapped on cast 4. Anyways, any fellow fisher-persons who would have an idea of where to start learning about this new way of fishing would be grealty much appreciated!

The fly angler uses a rod longer and lighter than those used for cast and spin fishing. Fly rods can be as short as 2 m (6 ft) long in freshwater fishing and up to 4.5 m (15 ft) long for two-handed fishing for salmon or steelhead. The average rod for fresh and salt water is around 9 feet in length and weighs from 3 5 ounces, though a recent trend has been to lighter, shorter rods for fishing smaller streams.

The type of cast used when fishing varies according to the conditions. The most common cast is the forward cast, where the angler whisks the fly into the air, back over the shoulder until the line is nearly straight, then forward, using primarily the forearm. The objective of this motion is to "load" (bend) the rod tip with stored energy, then transmit that energy to the line, resulting in the fly line (and the attached fly) being cast for an appreciable distance. Casting without landing the fly on the water is known as 'false casting', and may be used to pay out line, to dry a soaked fly, or to reposition a cast. Other casts are the roll cast, the single- or double-haul, the tuck cast, and the side- or curve-cast.

Dropping the fly onto the water and its subsequent movement on or beneath the surface is one of fly fishing's most difficult aspects; the angler is attempting to cast in such a way that the line lands smoothly on the water and the fly appears as natural as possible. At a certain point, if a fish does not strike, depending upon the action of the fly in the wind or current, the angler picks up the line to make another presentation. On the other hand, if a fish strikes, the angler pulls in line while raising the rod tip. This "sets" the hook in the fish's mouth. The fish is played either by hand, where the angler continues to hold the fly line in one hand to control the tension applied to the fish, or by reeling up any slack in the line and then using the hand to act as a drag on the reel. Some fly reels have an adjustable, mechanical drag system to control line tension during a fish's run.

trust me when I say that if I can learn it any one can.. I practice in local lakes by wading to knee deep maybe waist deep water and casting poppers for pan fish. If you get into some crappie you will be hooked for life.. Of course, I didn't have any kind of boat til last year so my options were limited. Nonetheless, Fly fishing for pan fish is way fun.. If your interested in trout fishing next fall just let me know, I can help you get a lot of fish and have a lot of fun!!

A great place to get started is on our North Shore streams for steelhead. We fish with strike indicators and a few split shot ahead of a piece of yarn trimmed to look like an egg. The streams are small so a simple "roll" cast is all that is needed to start hooking fish. A basic 7-8weight fly rod and bigger fly reel along with weight foward line is all you need. Most people tie their own leaders that consist of three different sections of monofiliment connected by knots. Yarn flies are my most productive pattern and are relatively inexpensive. A great article written on indicator fly fishing North Shore streams is available at jeffsjigs.com. If you need any other info send me a message. Good luck!

I would visit a fly shop in your area, unfortunately there are not many fly shops in Minnesota but if you have one it is a good source for instruction and information to get you started. Good luck and enjoy!We have a fly shop in Perham, MN check out our website, www.front20outfitters.com